Rightful King Returns: Difference between revisions

 

{{quote|''"But at the essential moment, see, your [[Royal Blood|genuine kings]] throw back their cloak and say 'Lo!' and their essential kingnessness shines through."''

 

This is the common [[High Fantasy]] plot that involves restoring the rightful heir to the throne. Requires, obviously, the [[Royal Blood]] trope; it doesn't work in a kingdom with elective monarchs. (Not that many works actually use elective monarchies.)

* ''[[Trinity Blood]]'' ends with {{spoiler|Esther being crowned queen}}.

* The manga adaptation of ''[[The Legend of Zelda (manga)|The Legend of Zelda]]: [[A Link to The Past]]'' by Himeakawa ends this way, with the return of the missing Princess Zelda (who is immediately crowned Queen, thus making it the Rightful Queen Returns).

 

== Film ==

* ''King Ralph''

* In [[Disney]]'s ''[[Robin Hood (Disney film)|Robin Hood]]'', everyone (except for Prince John) desperately waited for King Richard to return and reclaim his throne from his greedy brother.

 

== Literature ==

* Subverted by {{spoiler|Carrot Ironfoundersson}} in [[Discworld|Ankh-Morpork]]. He's the rightful king, and would make a really ''good'' one, too, caring about both his people and the city... but he stays away from the throne for exactly that reason, as he knows that monarchy is exactly what Ankh-Morpork ''doesn't'' need, and possibly because he ascribes to Vimes' problem with the term 'rightful'. He'll occasionally exploit his status, though, using it to pull off the [[Theory of Narrative Causality|narrative tricks]] that come with this trope (Such as fighting other enemies aware of narrative causality who realize you can't beat a rightful king who's not yet on the throne, especially when he's got justice and is outnumbered).

** He often directly subverts the Tolkien examples, with the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork being in the role of the Steward of Gondor. Unlike the Tolkien example, both the Steward and the Rightful King are happy with the status quo: Vetinari can rest secure in the knowledge that, if anyone ''does'' try to organize a coup to restore the Rightful Heir to the throne, they haven't got the correct Heir.

* ''[[The Prisoner of Zenda]]'' is almost a subversion of the trope though since the guy helping to restore the king is agreed by the king's allies to actually be a better ruler, and in fact the guy who overthrew the king is also a much better ruler.

* [[Subverted Trope|Subverted]] in the novel ''The Dragons of Babel'' by Michael Swanwick. The king of Babel has been missing for a few decades. Will, the protagonist, falls in with a con man named Nat, who comes up with a plan to pass off Will as the king's bastard son and therefore the sole heir to the throne. {{spoiler|In the end, it becomes a [[Double Subversion]]: Nat is both the long-lost king and Will's biological father, meaning that Will really ''is'' the heir to the throne.}}

** Not just the eponymous hero, either. {{spoiler|All four Pevensie kids were the rightful rulers of Narnia before they got suckered into going back to being boring kids again.}}

* The [[Belgariad]]. If you can't figure out who it is, you need to read some more.

* Played with in [[Lloyd Alexander]]'s [[Prydain Chronicles]]. The country has a bunch of lesser kings who are overseen by one High King, and although throughout the series there is a kindly and just man in this position, the oracular ''Book of Three'' foretells the coming of a truly great High King. There is also an evil overlord threatening the land. The series follows the adventures of a foundling child, who is rescued by a great wizard and is raised by him out in the middle of nowhere.

{{quote|''"Politicians do not understand much; but politicians do understand politics," said Pond pensively. "I mean they do understand the IMMEDIATE effect on mobs and movements. Somehow he had slipped in and started a campaign of private popularity before they even knew who he was. When once he was popular, they were helpless. How could they say: 'Yes, he is popular, he is on the side of the people and the poor; the young men accept his leadership; but he is the King and therefore he must go'? They know how horribly near the world is to answering: 'Yes; he is the King and, by God, he shall stay.'"''}}

 

* The ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' episode "Rightful Heir" plays with this. Klingon messiah [[Crystal Dragon Jesus|Kahless]], the first Emperor of the Klingon Empire, seemingly returns, as he promised to, and claims the vacant throne of the Empire. It turns out that he is just a clone of Kahless raised to think that he is him, but Worf notes that he is still the [[Title Drop|rightful heir]], and so he is installed as emperor, in a ceremonial role.

 

== Music ==

* ''[[Forgotten Realms]]'' had restoration of the monarchy in Tethyr. An unpopular monarch was overthrown in a peasant uprising with which the heir tried to cover up the coup. Then things quickly rolled downhill: during two decades of interregnum, robber barons and worse made sure nobody gets too fat and bored. The guilds (and [[The Syndicate|Knights of the Shield]]) removed the last foreign satrap, but failed to control the capital city, much less the rest of ex-kingdom. In the end, locals crowned the first noble adventuress who managed to assemble something like an army and locally restore something like orderly life, after she defeated two of the most odious players. Sponsors of the last coup were among her loudest supporters. When in the ensuing war of reunification she was joined by, and soon married with, a previously hidden heir of the royal dynasty, they cheered even louder - except those who hoped she will make a nice figurehead. That Haedrak III turned out to be well-connected, very competent and [[Obfuscating Stupidity|sneaky]] was just a bonus.

* Subverted in the ''[[Exalted]]'' adventure book ''Return of the Scarlet Empress''. The Empress also heralds the return of some of world's overthrown creators, but this is a ''[[Sealed Evil in a Can|very]] [[Hell on Earth|bad]] [[The End of the World as We Know It|thing]]''.

 

== Theatre ==

** ''[[Hamlet]]'' is a subversion. Hamlet, the rightful heir, slays Claudius, who took over the throne, but doesn't live long enough to claim it himself. Then the kingdom gets taken over by Fortinbras, the rightful heir to ''another whole kingdom'', because ''his'' kingdom has been usurped. By Hamlet's dad.

* Subverted hard and then played straight by [[Gilbert and Sullivan]] in ''The Gondoliers.'' One of two Venetian Gondoliers is believed to be their heir to the vacant throne of the Mediterranean kingdom of Barataria; until it can be revealed which of them is the king, they reign jointly. But it turns out that {{spoiler|neither of them was the king, and the actual king is restored to his throne at the end.}}

 

== [[Video Games]] ==

* Happens in ''[[Mitsumete Knight]] R: Daibouken Hen'' with {{spoiler|1=[[The Hero]] MacLeod}}, if you finish the game in a odd-numbered playthrough holding the "Licence of Heartless" item: in this storyline, {{spoiler|1=MacLeod, [[The Reveal|revealed as]] [[Noble Fugitive|the prince of the fallen kingdom Parmet]], achieves his [[Revenge]] against [[The Empire]] Orcadia by destroying it, then restores Parmet Kingdom and becomes its King}}.

* Frequently part of ''Legend of Zelda'' games, at least the ones where Princess Zelda is the rightful ruler. She's not going to return by herself, though; you (Link) have to rescue her.

 

== Web Comics ==

** Invoked, in the prophecy of a new Storm King who will marry a Heterodyne and cause the new Golden Age. Or, as one of candidates [http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20130703 put it] —

{{quote|'''Martellus''': The Order spent years creating a Storm King shaped ''hole in the world''. }}

 

== Western Animation ==

** Papa Smurf also plays this role in "King Smurf" when he returns to stop the fighting among all his little Smurfs and to put an end to King Smurf's role as king.

* Inverted in [[The Simpsons]], "Simpsons Bilbe Stories" episode. As part of a retelling of the story of David and Goliath, David (Bart) was forced into exile by Goliath II (Nelson). David reclaims his throne, however, his people arrest him as Goliath II (the Consensus Builder) was a popular ruler who genuinely improved their lives.

 

== Real Life ==

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Royalty and Nobility Tropes]]

[[Category:Older Than Dirt]]

[[Category:Plots]]